Ekrima Sabri says Israeli activities during Jewish holidays aim to assert Sovereignty over Al-Aqsa

Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, preacher of Al-Aqsa Mosque, has accused the Israeli government of using activities surrounding Jewish holidays to assert greater control over the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and gradually alter its longstanding status quo.

Sabri said Israeli activities at and around the compound had moved beyond seasonal religious visits and were increasingly part of what he described as a broader political effort to demonstrate Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem and its holy sites.

His comments came during Yom Kippur, following a visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday evening to the Western Wall and nearby tunnels.

Hundreds of Jewish visitors also entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Sunday under Israeli police protection, according to the Palestinian Information Centre. The report said some performed prayers and religious rituals at the site.

In media remarks, Sabri said visits by Netanyahu, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and other Israeli officials to the Old City and areas surrounding Al-Aqsa during Jewish holidays carried political implications beyond their stated religious context.

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He argued that such appearances were intended to portray Israeli control over Jerusalem and its holy sites as an established reality.

Sabri said his principal concern was not only the growing number of Jewish visitors or the performance of prayers at the compound, but what he described as a gradual process through which previously exceptional practices could become routine and eventually be incorporated into a new status quo.

He accused Israeli authorities of pursuing an incremental approach, beginning with limited activities under police protection before allowing them to become more frequent and extensive.

Sabri said the progression from visits to public prayer and calls for designated times and areas for Jewish worship could ultimately alter the historical and legal arrangements governing the compound.

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